Irish Songs in a Woman's Key: The Last Rose of Summer

All the guitar books that I've come across, for folk or particularly for Irish songs, annotate the songs in keys that are suitable for men.   Women who are starting to play guitar and who haven't mastered the art of transposing yet ( a subject for another post) try to play the songs and give up really quickly because either the song is way too low or way too high.  

Several of my female students ask me for the chords of songs so I thought it'd be good to start a series here with particular focus on Irish songs, both traditional and contemporary.  These keys are the keys in which I play and sing the songs.    To move the song higher, move the capo up another fret or two.

The Last Rose of Summer is a beautiful song about friendship.  Thomas Moore was writing at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries.   Irish born, he was the darling of the London court and wrote many beautiful songs that are still being sung today, mostly in a classical style, but I think they are just as valid sung in lower keys and in a more folk style.

This is in the key of G

The Last Rose of Summer

lyrics by Thomas Moore, tune traditional

                  G      C            G                     Em   Am    D      G

'Tis the last rose of summer, left blooming a---lone 

D             G   C              G                        Em  Am    D     G

All her lovely com-pa-nions are fa  - ded and gone

          Em            C     G                  Em            (Bm)     C        

No flower of her kindred, no rose bud is      nigh 

D         G      C       D     G                       Em   Am    D    G

To reflect back her blushes or to give sigh for sigh. 

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one! to pine on the stem

Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them

'Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o'er the bed

Where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead. 

So soon may I follow, when friendships decay

And from love's shining circle the gems drop away

When true hearts lie wither'd and fond ones are flown

Oh! who would inhabit this bleak world alone!

* ( The Bm in brackets can be omitted)

Here is a quite classical version, sung very high, from the US musical spectacular Celtic Woman ( I love their outfits)

This blog is Day 15 of Sarah Allen's 30 day blog challenge